Abstract
The nature and extent of the relationships between the corrosion of two mild steels of different copper content, and atmospheric pollution were investigated at 22 selected sites in the Sheffield area. This was part of a general investigation into atmospheric corrosion of ferrous metals. The results confirmed that there was an important relationship between the corrosion of steel and the atmospheric pollution by smoke and sulphur dioxide. However, only about 50% of the variations in corrosion rates at different sites could be attributed to sulphur dioxide, measured in this investigation by the Volumetric Method. Smoke intensity had an influence on the corrosive rate of steel similar to that of sulphur dioxide but the correlation between sulphur dioxide and smoke was high, so that their effects on the corrosion rate could not be considered as independent. Their combined effect was only slightly greater than their individual effects.
The corrosion rate could not be accurately predicted from a knowledge of the quantity of these two types of atmospheric pollution present in the atmosphere.
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